The Age of Discovery: Chinese cuisine swept across Europe

The next day, Min Xi went to the Censorate to report on time, but he no longer had to report in and leave like he did in the past at the Honglu Temple. He had to stay and work.

The Censor-in-Chief was a seventh-rank official. If he were in a local area, he would be a local official. But in a place like the capital, a seventh-rank official was just a small official. Moreover, there were as many as 110 Censors-in-Chief in the Censorate, with three or five in charge of each province. These Censors were usually stationed in the capital and would only go out with their seals when there was something to do.

Together with the second, third and fourth rank censors at all levels, as well as officials such as experience, clerks, and secretaries, the entire yamen has more than a hundred officials of all ranks, which can be considered a large yamen in the capital.

Therefore, the courtyard of the Censorate was full of people, and Min Xi had to share an office with three other colleagues. The conditions were much more difficult than when he was in the Honglu Temple.

Min Xi had just arrived at the Censorate and was still familiarizing himself with his work content.

When several colleagues work together, it is inevitable to chat. Min Xi naturally heard a lot of gossip and developments in the officialdom.

A supervisory censor suddenly sighed: "I'm afraid the Censorate will be very busy recently."

"how do I say this?"

"I heard that a lot of people have been beating the drum to file complaints these past two days, all of them accusing the Zhang family of bullying men and women and taking advantage of their power to bully others."

Min Xi's heart was moved, and he couldn't help asking: "Which Zhang family?"

"Which other Zhang family is there? In the capital, when we talk about the Zhang family, we are referring specifically to that family."

Min Xi confirmed again: "Lord Zhang?"

"Who else could it be except him! Didn't Lord Zhang retire the day before yesterday? There must be many officials who are ready to impeach him, but they don't dare to take action against Lord Zhang directly, so they sue the officials of Zhang's faction first to test the emperor's attitude."

Min Xi understood that Zhang Juzheng was now in a situation where everyone was pushing him down. He had been extremely powerful over the years, and there were countless officials who flattered him and followed him. These officials had their families and relatives, and they had infiltrated every corner of the capital. Human nature is dark, and with power, the dark side will almost be doubled, so it is easy to find some mistakes.

Zhang Juzheng was not dead yet and his influence was still there. Officials in the court naturally did not dare to target him directly, but they had already begun to test him.

A colleague asked curiously, "What do you think His Majesty would do if he really wanted to impeach Zhang?"

"It's hard to say! Zhang Ge Lao is your majesty's teacher, so you shouldn't do anything to him, at least while he's still alive. As for what will happen to him a hundred years later, it's hard to say."

"Alas! Lord Zhang has offended too many people for his reforms. Now that he has retired to the second line, those who want to settle accounts with him are probably lining up from the palace gate to the front street."

Min Xi did not participate in the discussion, but just listened silently. Zhang Juzheng had lost power, and there were too many people who wanted to overthrow Zhang's faction, especially Zhang Juzheng's family. It was unlikely that they could get away with it. Min Xi secretly calculated in his heart that if he could not get away with it, he should at least protect the Zhang family instead of imprisoning them and exiling them.

Min Xi heard a lot of gossip that day. When he returned home, Yun Ji had arrived home before him. Yun Lin also came back from Wenchang Academy. Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, so the academy is closed. The government office is also closed tomorrow.

Yun Lin asked curiously, "Second brother, why did you come back later than eldest brother? My eldest brother said that you were transferred to the Censorate. Is the Censorate very busy?"

"It's quite busy. Much busier than the Honglu Temple. You have to leave the office on time every day."

Yun Ji looked at Min Xi who was full of dissatisfaction and couldn't help but laugh: "Actually, you don't have to be so strict. You can go home earlier."

"I'm mainly familiarizing myself with my work content and listening to some gossip. Are you two making lanterns?" Min Xi asked.

Yunlin replied: "Yes, I want to make two Kongming lanterns. Bella told me last Mid-Autumn Festival that she wanted to fly Kongming lanterns. I promised her and made one for her."

It seems that this boy has a good relationship with Bella.

While Yun Ji was busy, he looked at Min Xi and said, "Shall we go there tomorrow night too?"

"Okay!" Min Xi agreed readily, "Don't you want to eat? The food is ready, let's cook after dinner."

"Okay, let's eat first and do it later." Yun Ji put down the work in his hands.

The three of them were eating around the table when someone from the front yard came to report that someone from the palace had come with a message.

Min Xi and Yun Ji looked at each other. There was not much strangeness in either of them's eyes. It should be that the emperor wanted to leave the palace tomorrow.

They put down their bowls and chopsticks and went out to greet him. As expected, the person who came to deliver the message was the familiar eunuch Yao: "His Majesty wants to go out of the palace to visit the Lantern Festival tomorrow night, and he wants the two adults to accompany him."

Min Xi said, "Okay. Lord Yun and I are going to leave the city tomorrow to visit Liulichang. I wonder if Your Majesty is interested. If you want to go, let's go together. If not, we will come back early tomorrow and accompany Your Majesty to visit the Lantern Festival."

Eunuch Yao nodded and said, "Then I will go back and report to His Majesty. If His Majesty decides to go to Liulichang, I will send someone to inform you later."

After seeing off Eunuch Yao, they went back to have dinner and then went on to make Kongming lanterns. Since they were going to visit the lantern festival with the emperor, they had to make the emperor's share as well.

A little later, someone came from the palace again and said that Wanli had decided to leave the city with them tomorrow.

The next morning, they got up early, and after getting ready, they drove their carriages to wait outside the palace gate. Not long after they arrived, the emperor's carriage came out with a grand ceremony, with people riding horses to clear the way, holding signs to avoid the way, as well as guards and honor guards. It was a grand procession. This was not an incognito tour, but a public trip.

Min Xi and Yun Ji got off the carriage and paid their respects to the emperor. Wanli waved at them from the dragon chariot and said, "All of you, come on my carriage."

Min Xi and Yun Ji had no choice but to get on the dragon chariot and let the coachman carry Yun Lin behind the emperor's guard of honor.

After they got in the car, Wanli couldn't help complaining to them: "I originally planned to follow you out of the city quietly, without making a big fuss, but my mother wouldn't allow it. She insisted that I show the royal majesty and set up a guard of honor. It's so troublesome, so slow and noisy, and there are so many rules. It's annoying!"

Min Xi certainly didn't want to go out like this, but things couldn't be changed, so he had to accept the reality: "The Empress Dowager is also considering your safety, it's right to have more guards." This also has its advantages, at least they don't have to be responsible for the emperor's safety. The only trouble is that the speed of travel will be much slower, after all, not everyone can ride in a car.

The convoy left the city in a grand manner, looking very impressive along the way, but the speed was also more than half slower. Fortunately, Wanli was not unhappy, as he had Min Xi and Yun Ji with him. They had so many stories that he would not get bored at all, and he just wanted to spend more time with them.